Description

During certain grab attack animations, damage can be reduced by mashing buttons. There is typically a range of potential damage reduction depending on how quickly buttons are pressed.

Execution

Rapidly tap any one of the eight shoulder or face buttons. Tapping the d-pad or other auxiliary buttons will not work.

Pressing a combination of buttons may help your speed and reduce more damage, so alternating between R1 and L1 is a good method. However, if you are capable of pressing a single button the same number of times within the same duration, the amount of damage reduced will be the same.

The BPM (beats per minute) required to trigger damage reduction can also vary a bit between enemy types, but typically button presses lasting the entire duration of the grab begin to reduce damage at roughly 300 BPM. A rate of roughly 480 BPM or higher may be needed to reduce the most damage possible.

Damage Reduction

Certain grab attack animations will end more quickly depending on the rate of your button presses, with roughly 15% damage reduced with the slowest possible button presses, and up to roughly 80% damage reduced with the most rapid button presses.1

In special cases, certain grab attacks can also have their damage negated entirely. The consistency of triggering these is not yet certain, but it is known to be possible.